#TBT to 2008 & The Rockwater Brewi & BBQ - London ON

~ROCKWATER BREW & BBQ is NOW CLOSED - RIP~

LOST REVIEW

I recently found a stash of never before released wing reviews - but really it's just the photos. Back in 2008 I went to visit my friend Amanda in London Ontario. We went to Rockwater Brew & BBQ at the London City Plaza Mall. They closed down years ago and it seems the space was completely gutted (the outside facade was removed) and was chopped up into a Fairweather and other stores.

not sure where I stole this photo from, probably their website that I can no longer find

I don't remember a lot, but what I do remember was that the place was cabin/outdoorsy themed. Amanda got a veggie burger and I got wings. The wings were unique because they were served on wooden skewers.

I have a super fuzzy video of the menu with the wing section and this is what I interpret as:

"Our Famous Chicken Wings
Lightly dusted, cedar-fired and skewered.
Served with celery, carrots and blue cheese
dressing on the side.

Wings come in 1lb/skewers
Single Skewer $8.49
Double Skewer $13.49
Wing Add-On $6.25

Choice of Sauce
mild, medium, hot, Bullseye BBQ
honey garlic, caribbean jerk, honey mustard or our own
spicy KYBO Suicide, _____ _____ ____  off (if you can take it)

Choice of Dry Spice
Cajun, Lime & Sea Salt, Tex-Mex
curry or Lemon & Pepper"



My photos are super blurry (bad lighting + no flash to not be embarrassing because food photography in restaurants was not common back then) but based on what I see I'm pretty sure I got 10 hot and 10 Honey Mustard (I can't believe I didn't get the KYBO suicide ... or maybe I did?). I remember them being really big wings, but tough and not that crispy. They did come with veggies and dip. Also, I look huge in that photo.

I don't know why I never finished this review, but here is how it started:





"A couple of years ago I went to London Ontario to go visit some friends. Amanda was working downtown (still does) and on her lunch we met up. We went to the

117-355 Wellington Street
London ON

London Ribfest 2013 ~ The Fest

There was a lot of write ups for the London Ribfest 2013 in the London Free Press this year:

http://www.lfpress.com/2013/07/30/londoners-relish-ribfest-which-runs-thursday-through-holiday-monday-at-victoria-park


http://www.lfpress.com/2013/07/31/members-of-cecil-hilliers-family-have-operated-family-shows-canada-for-the-past-20-years

http://www.lfpress.com/2013/07/31/pop-to-blues-to-folk-rock-to-country-ribfest-has-full-entertainment-menu

http://www.lfpress.com/2013/08/02/you-be-the-judge-urges-judge-belanger

It was a great day for the festival in Victoria Park in London Ontario. It was sunny and warm in the sun, but it was not humid out. There were a ton of people all out enjoying rides, crafts and food. Lots and lots of food.

The park is laid out with the vendors winding through the wooded parts, but their is a big field in the middle for people to sit out, relax and enjoy some ribs.

Even Fido with his hat was enjoying the park!

Throughout the park are volunteers manning the EcoStations for recycling. As you can see, there is a ton of garbage at an event where 100 000+ people are attending. The Ribbers also use biodegradable containers for their wares, which is great.

Not only are there 10 Rib Vendors cooking ribs, but there are over 100 other food vendors in the park. So even if you don't like ribs, there are a lot of other food choices. It's become a tradition that after my judging LJ and I get a deep fried Mars bar for dessert. So good.

Depending on the time of day, the line-ups for ribs can get pretty big - even 20 people deep. It's worth it. Ribs, pulled pork, chicken and fixins, this is easily the tastiest festival out there. And the smell; Blocks away from the park you can smell the smoke and the pork and it's just heaven. It helps that they have fans blowing the smoke for everyone to experience.

There are 10 Ribbers cooking up ribs and they come from both Canada and the US. Their stands are huge, and most of them have tables full of trophies. But don't let the trophies and the line-ups food you; go up and look at the ribs, ask for a taste of the sauce and then make your choice, as you might be surprised what you find.

I also love the showmanship of the ribbers. One of my favourites is Boss Hog's with their custom made grill and the dude showboating with sauce on the ribs. It's exciting!

The event is over now, but mark your calendars for next years London Ribfest. There's something for everyone, but especially for the carnivores out there. It's a great way to end the summer for sure.

As for me, this was my 5th year Judging, and it's always great to come back:

London 2013 Ribfest Sauce & Rib Judging

London Ribfest 2012

AUGUST 2012

The August long weekend is bitter sweet for me. It's sad because it's the last long weekend of the summer for me (I have to work through Labour Day Weekend ironically), but it's always exciting because it's Ribfest long weekend in London Ontario.

It was a beautiful day to wander around Victoria park, taking in the sights, the people and the food.

There had been rain earlier that had kept crowds away, but soon the sun was out, and the lineups for smokey meat did not take long to form.

Ribfest is part fair, part food fest, part BBQ junkie meet up.

Originally it was just me and LJ at Ribfest, with Ricky unable to make it. Originally Amanda and Brad couldn't come, but then they showed up and surprised me. Amanda got these panzarottis. As a non-meat eater, she asked the vendor if the sauce was meatless. They said yes. They failed to mention that there was meat in the panzarotti. Amanda should have asked I guess . . . but she enjoyed her first few bites!

I love that for blocks away you can smell the smoke from the ribs. What a wonderful smell.

If ribs aren't your thing, theres chip trucks and corn, fudge and wings, sandwiches and lemonade - I shared a deep fried mars bar with LJ - so good.

Then there were the 10 BBQ Vendors. Mostly familiar setups like Jack the Ribber, Fire Island BBQ, Pistol Pete and of course Boss Hogg BBQ. So many others too.

I love just watching the ribbers grill, smoke and sauce the food. It's so carnal and primitive. Cue Tim 'Tool man' Taylors grunts.

Brad, looking a little creepy and hipsterish went with a pulled pork sandwich.

I don't remember where he got it from, but it was chalk full of pork. He said it was too saucy for his liking. It looked right to me!

 Ribfest 2012 Judging

London Ribfest 2012 ~ Rib & Sauce Judging

August 2012

First off I want to say this was grossley over-due. The August long weekend is long past.

After wandering around London Ribfest 2012 for a bit, I came across a welcome sight - my call as a 'celebrity' judge!

The event was moved to near the band-shell this year, and even security was there waiting for me!

I was also greeted by fellow blogger and rib judge Wilfred Reinke aka The Oshawa Ogre. Well, it was a banner of his anyway - but I finally did get to meet him in person!

The set up: Paper towel, moist towlettes, name tag, bottle of water, Coke (others got alcohol, but for someone like me, this was awesome), paper plates and cutlery.

We also got a binder with the official rib judge badge sticker. The rules and the score are the same as last year.

What would Ribfest be if it wasn't opened with Bill Paul, London Town Crier?

Part of the judging panel. Some familiar faces that I've gotten to know a bit for the past few years. Barry Orr sat beside me again, Councilor Harold Usher and Queen's Council Lawyer Murray Neilson were there too. This year I sat beside Jim Reyno of Metro London paper (see his article on judging HERE).  Also there was Joe Santore, Heather Jackson - Mayor of St Thomas, MPP Teresa Armstrong,  John Winston of Tourism London, Dale Carruthers of the London Free Press. Police Chief Brad Duncan was there too.

Our MC for the event was Toni Ross from Fresh FM radio. There were a lot of mildly inappropriate jokes from the largely male panel towards Toni about eating and ribs, but she was able to keep the guys in check. We all had a good time eating ribs and chatting with one another.


SAUCE JUDGING

First on the judging agenda was sauces. Each rib vendor sent the sauce they thought would win best sauce. We were supplied with bread sticks to consume the sauce.

Each judge got a tray of sauces. I was behind everyone because I not only was judging, but I was also taking pictures, and taking notes.

To start with, I was so busy I forgot to photograph #1 completely. Sorry. Here are my notes as I wrote them down:

1. 'sweet/savory, chunks of pepper, slight fruity flavour. good - 8'
2. 'brown sauce, little heat - 7'
3. 'thick, spice, ketchup taste - 5'
4. 'brown sauce - little spice - 5'
5. 'paste sauce - 5'

When I say 'brown sauce' I mean something like an HP sauce.

6.   'chunky, growing heat, -5'

7.   'plam - bold - 4'  (I don't know what plam is supposed to read - plain? plum?)

8.   'plain - 4'

9.   'Oregano? No _____ -5'

10. 'Thick, bitter - 3'

For me, the first was the best.

RIB JUDGING

It wasn't long before the ribs were on their way out. This is the exciting part.

1.  'Tender and tough, soft no crispiness to bark. Plain sauce, no smoke flavour'
2.  'Big, thick rib - not crispy, little tough. Nice smoke rub, super meaty'
3.  'Crispy bark, saucy - sweet like ketchup - sticky, good texture'

4.  'saucy but rub comes out (no tug), more about rib than sauce. bark - salty, little tug'
5.  'tender/tough - sauce is blah but some herb, not so great'
6.  'Smokey, bark, tender, salty, more rub than sauce, sauce is mild'

7.  'Smokey - but gas smokey not wood smokey. Sweet but 'bold', but a mild bold. Rib good but sauce gas smokey'.
8.  'Sweet sauce, grissely rib - tough. Fruity sauce.'
9.  'Huge - super tender - has boozey taste? but mile mild sauce.'
10. 'Dark, slightly sour. Tender - but no real flavour.'

My highlights were #6 and #4 whoever they were. Overall I was actually disappointed in the ribs this year - so many were tough, or weak in flavour. It was clear some ribbers went to a lot of effort in the presentation of their ribs, and others not.

No matter what, it was fun, filling and I can't thank Cecil Hillier and the folks at Family Shows Canada for having me as judge!

THE WINNERS:

1.       Mystery Judge’s Awards – these judges wandered around Ribber Row during the festival and observed the Ribbers in action. They have 2 awards.

Best Ribber Rig Display  is  Kentucky Smokehouse   

2.       Celebrity Judge’s Awards -  the celebrity judges did a magnificent job at selecting the winners of their awards. Their first 2 awards are:

Celebrity Judges 2^nd Place, Best Sauce  is  Boss Hoggs     

3.       Celebrity Judge’s 1^st Place Best  Sauce  is  Ribs Royale             

4.       The Best Ribber Cooking Showmanship award this year is sponsored by the

Metro London newspaper.  Jim Reyno from Metro London will now present the award. The award includes a picture and article in their newspaper.

The mystery judges decision:

        

Metro London - Best Ribber Cooking Showmanship  is   Fire Island  

5.       People’s Choice Panel

During the festival. Patrons deposited a ballot to get a chance to represent the people at large. The lucky folks who won the draw became the People’s Choice panel. They got the privilege to taste all 10 delectable ribs and determine the London People’s Choice awards for 2012. Their decisions are:

Peoples Choice 2^nd Place Best Ribs in London  is Texas Rangers

                            Judges Rib # 9

6.       People’s Choice Overall Best Ribs in London is  Ribs Royale

                                      Judges Rib # 7                       

        

7.       These are the big awards from the Celebrity Judge’s ,

Their Choice for 2^nd Place Best Ribs in London  is Jack the Ribber

                                                    Judges Rib # 3

8.       Their choice for Overall Best Ribs in London is  Boss Hoggs
                           Judges Rib # 1

2012 London Ribfest

LONDON RIBFEST 2011: Rib & Sauce Judging

Year three and I was once again honoured to judge at the 2011 London Ribfest. What can I say, it's pretty sweet. 

So if you haven't followed my escapeds as a judge at Ribfest in 2009, and again in 2010, the way it works is that there are 10 rib vendors who each compete for Ribs and Sauce. In the past there has been a wing competition as well, but that has been shifted to the London International Food Festival.

Then there are the judges. Celebrities from the community that have to do the arduous task of eating ribs, tasting sauces, and drinking Mill Street Brewery products.

Ya, that's my placard. And I'm up front too. Great view.

To start things off, Town Crier Bill Paul opened the judging. while Nick Paparella successfully MC'd again. You can also see the Ribfest mascot there cheering on the crowd. It was a bloody hot day and I have tremendous sympathy for that individual.

This time I had the privilege of sitting besides London Police Chief  Brad Duncan and Queen's Council lawyer Murray Neilson.

 Also sitting in the judges areas were the Mayor of St Thomas Heather Jackson-Chapman, London Free Press colomnist Joe Belanger, Wastewater Operation's Barry Orr, London Councilor Harold Usher, and the Attorney General of Ontario Chris Bentley.  It was cool meeting such influential people, and then have several of them refer to me as the expert.

Everyone was in really good spirits (and getting full of spirits!) and soon we were starting our first judging task:

SAUCE JUDGING

Pretty simple - 10 sauces, one from each Ribber, and one scores them from 1-10: not ranked this way, so you could have multiple 10 scores if they were good enough.

It didn't take Joe Belanger long to really get into the sauce. Ya, that's it all over his face - crazy guy.

Above are the sauces. The chips might not have been the best choice as they are salty and might taint the flavour, but I think I got the whole flavour of the sauce. I have no idea who's sauce was what, but here were my notes (some are illegible, some I wonder what I was talking about. Note to self, write more and more clearly next time).

1. Tomato based, vegetable flavouring, bright red.
2. Bold, dark flavour, hint of heat, ketchup-y colour and texture. *
3. Bold, but no distinct flavour.
4. Thick, but like a malty vinegar.
5. Smooth, spicy, almost like a hot sauce. *
6. Bold, but milder than the others, slight hint of spice.
7. Heavy on a Greek-style spice (oregano?) and tomato.
8. Sweet.
9. Fruity, almost like, raspberry?
10. Spicy, bold , peppery - like a 40 Creek BBQ.

*Denotes the ones I really liked.

Tasty tasty work. But then the real challenge came on:


RIB JUDGING

Similar situation, similar rules. Basically, looking at Taste, Texture and Tenderness. Total score out of 30.

The brought us out one rib at a time. Each of the ribs are unique. Each ribber sources their own pork ribs and cooks it how they like. At one time they used to all use the same pork but the ribbers each like to use different cuts as you can see below. Again, I have no idea what rib came from what vendor.

1. Tender, little pull. Tomatoey sauce, mild but smooth. Very nice start.
2. Bold but sweet - scrawny rib, little meat, a bit tender.
3. Gooey. Dark flavoured sauce.
   

4. Tender, sweet (almost like candy - but mild flavour)

5. Saucy - but bark was tough. Sweet BBQ like ketchup but not as sugary.

6. Tender but bad texture (mushy). Saucy, standard tasty. 

It is said over and over again, its a tough job but someone has to do it.

7. Huge piece! tender, spices, taste like a roast - unique flavour.
8. Saucy, slight tenderness, slight smoke flavour. very mild flavour.
9. Tough! fruity sweet sauce. But so hard to chew. Someone mentioned around me that this should be a rib, not a steak that you need a knife to cut.
10. Roasted flavour, like a rich gravy. Very unique, but underwhelming.

So who won?

Drum Roll Please . . .

BEST RIBS: OLG Gateway, 2nd Place Pistol Pete's .

BEST SAUCE: Jack the Ribber, 2nd Place Fire Island

People's Choice: Kentucky Smokehouse.

Treated like kings, eating pork, hanging out with some cool people, and I got my photo with a walking pig. Ribfest 2011 was once again a success!

London Ribfest 2011 |  Backyard Ribfest 2011